I wrote about this in 12 Costly Necessities That Aren’t. It seems I’m not alone in thinking bottled water is a waste.
“With a day’s worth of bottled water – the recommended 64 ounces – costing hundreds to thousands of dollars a year depending on the brand, more people are opting to slurp water that comes straight from the sink.”
AMEN!
“Measured in 700-milliliter bottles of Poland Spring, a daily intake of water would cost $4.41, based on prices at a CVS drugstore in New York. Or $6.36 in 20-ounce bottles of Dasani. By half-liters of Evian, that’ll be $6.76, please. Which adds up to thousands a year.”
Yikes! I can’t imagine spending thousands a year on water. Of course, that’s based on the recommended daily intake of water. I’d wager that the majority of people don’t drink anywhere near that much water anyway, but it still adds up.
“Even a 24-pack of half-liter bottles at Costco Wholesale Corp., a bargain at $6.97, would be consumed by one person in six days. That’s more than $400 a year.”
Ouch. You know, there are two times in my life when I regularly drink bottled water: At work (it’s free from the water cooler) and camping. We buy in bulk when camping, and I don’t mind it so much because it’s kind of, well, essential to living. 
“But water from the tap? A little less than 0.14 cent for a day’s worth of water, based on averages from an American Water Works Association survey – just about 51 cents a year.”
Add to that about $6 a month for a water filter, and we’re good to go!
Photo by Trinitas Imaging / Ooodit
Technorati Tags: Wasting Money, Money, Saving, Spending
I couldn’t agree with you more! Bottled water has to be one of the biggest wastes of money there is. Aside from the monetary cost, there is also a huge environmental cost to all that plastic, and the debate about the commoditization of water takes it to a whole new level.
Yup, tap is good enough for me!
i couldn’t agree more. i rarely drink bottles water and instead resort to cold pitchers of tap water from the fridge.
[...] Can you imagine 20 some years ago if someone asked you if you’d like to pay $2 for water? Pay $2 for something you can get for free from your tap! You’d probably laugh them out of your personal space, but that’s what many people have been marketed (programmed) to do today. It’s a ridiculous waste of money. [...]